Henry County Board of Supervisors Meeting Report 10/24/24

The Henry County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting this morning at the Henry County Courthouse. After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, Chair Greg Moeller called the meeting to order at 9 o’clock. The agenda, minutes, and claims were approved unanimously, and Sarah Berndt’s General Assistance monthly update was moved to next Thursday.

Lynn Whaley discussed recyclables in Henry County with the Supervisors. The county averages about 6.08 tons per month at the Henry County Recycling Center. Currently, Whaley hauls the recyclables to Fort Madison where they get repackaged and hauled further to Pekin, Illinois. Whaley believes this process includes extra steps and extra hauling that could be eliminated. He suggested the county investigate the costs and potential savings associated with switching to hauling their recyclables to a recycling center in the Davenport area, eliminating the repackaging and extra mileage to Pekin, IL. Supervisor Marc Lindeen plans to look at this possibility and bring it back to the board later.

Henry County has also agreed to a contract with Ahlers & Cooney to represent Henry County, Iowa on the Henry County LMI Residential Urban Renewal Plan & Development as they work with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission and other parties involved.

The last big item of discussion before public comments was the Alternative Energy Ordinance in response to the potential commercial wind turbine project in northern Henry County. The Henry County Planning & Zoning Commission had tabled the ordinance but had not set any dates to resume discussions on it. All three Supervisors agreed that the Henry County Planning & Zoning Commission should revisit the ordinance and go through the process again to get an ordinance back to the Supervisors for review with assistance from the Henry County Attorney’s Office.

Public comments were made by various citizens in attendance regarding the alternative energy ordinance, posted meeting dates and times, and the efficiency in different departments at the courthouse. The meeting adjourned just before 10 am. The next regular meeting of the Henry County Board of Supervisors will be on Thursday, October 31 at 9:00 am. These meetings are open to the public.